they were ON this show.

welp, mcclure says it all.

ahh the days of all insturments becoming one, ahhh the days of 99.

barber what happened to your tone baby?

MEMPHIS>Iman is so patient, I love it. this one's defintely a keeper

That kid wasn't lying, this show is non-stop dance party

I got this show through a large B+P sometime in 2001, and had never heard a thing about it; however, I was fully aware that this recording was a representation of what many believe is one of the finest tours in Disco Biscuits History. For during this time I was exceptionally ravenous for discs, as so many are when the Crack-like Addiction, so synonomous with their music, grabs hold and solidifies within. And so I spent a good deal of the summer that year simply popping in various shows, not knowing what to expect, but from the opening jam in Voices, followed by the cerebral-dizzying cascade that is Morph, something told me I was in for a mindbender.
The Morph that went down in Sommerville that evening makes me feel like I am trapped in the oozing insides of a glow worm that just took three balloons to his head, tweaking in confusion, before jumping off a cliff and splattering liquidy, viscous globs of his guts across a barrage of jagged rocks below. If you're a fan of the 4.30.99 Morph, the godfather of all morphs in my opinion, I think you'll really dig this one. The Lai exemplifies the more casually sauntering versions long since departed, and while its no 12.30.99, you'll be hard pressed to keep that dumb look of joy off your face. HAB clocks in around 17:30, with a kind of clarity and vibrance that would even peek the curiousity an professional Orchestra. When Barber hits the last notes, Brownstein promply steps to the microphone, to assure the crowd they'll be back in five minutes, adding " When I say five minutes, I mean five minutes, Right here. We want to have as much time as possible for set two."
I couldn't imagine that the second set could be any better than the first, but Lord-O'-Crumpets-and-Cheese was I wrong. Fiddler begins the set by creating the same illusions of comfort that we would witness two years later-- Craddling the crowd in a blissful shawl before the skull-crushing chaotic plague of 9.1.01 was unleashed upon them. And just like THE FIDDLER from 9.1, Barber rips and tears at the ears of his listeners before going into the ending riff.
M.E.M.P.H.I.S> I-MAN>Run Like Hell. 80 minutes of some of the most remarkable music I have ever heard, from anyband. M.E.M.P.H.I.S is dark, patient, surreal. Each member lays down the intricacies that epidimizes the intervoven fluidity of their sound--nobody takes the lead...they let their intruments infuse into one another, creating the amalgamation we all know as Bisco. The jam elevates until they CRASH into the ending, and start off into IMAN. Brownstein takes the lead with dark, grumbling riffs, while Magner circulates dream-like effects on top of them. Barber immerses himself behind them, until taking the reigns at the 21:30 mark, which screams into IMAN. Sammy drives the first jam with Barber following closely behind them until they drop into the second composed section at around the 9:30 mark. From here on out, the music can best be described as what a good friend of mine calls "The Breath-taking Jam." I'll leave you to come up with your own interpretation of what I think is definately the show's highlight, but odds are you won't disagree with that term to sum up the beauty this jam puts forth.
The jam out of IMAN is similiar to many RLH intros, but nothing like the juggernauts ala 10.2.99. One of the things about the beggining that still sends shivers up my spine is the shrill this kid lets out from the 1:43-1:45 mark, after which they drop into a more mellowish jam than I expected; however, it definetly picks up speed again while a little help from Magner. The Second jam in the real pipe-layer, and starts with Barber thanking the Crew and those "f*cking wingnuts" (8.18.02) that did the whole tour. Then, through his usual method of noodling , He takes hold of a really nice riff and goes off on it around the 8:42 mark, and the other 3 gather around them--particularly Sammy, who is gradually seting up the rest of the jam, and which overflows into puddles of orchidaceous euphoria around the 15:10 mark before exploding back into the end of Run Like Hell.
Sorry for the long review, but I wouldn't be able to do this show justice without going into the 1% of details listed above. What happened that night? Was Barber's guitar on MDMA? Did the devil cash in on four souls? Whatever it was, I'm just grateful that a Grade A sounding copy was captured and found its way into circulation. Whether you're brand new to the Biscuit scene or a Longtime connoisseur, this show is sure to please anybody who appreciates intelligent music.